Over the past two decades, holy men in India have gone on dozens of fasts demanding governments honour their promise to revive the polluted Ganges, a river revered by Hindus. The recent death of one of the most prominent hunger strikers made headlines. Soutik Biswas went to find out more.

In a quiet ashram (retreat) near the pilgrim town of Haridwar, a young seer says he would die to save the Ganges.

Atmabodhanand is on the 40th day of a fast begun after the ashram's most prominent resident starved himself to death two months ago.

The 26-year-old computer science dropout from Kerala state spends his days lying under a blanket on a bed beneath a mango tree. When night falls and the air gets chillier, he moves inside the spartan quarters and sleeps.

"I am ready to die," he told me. "Our ashram has a history of sacrifice."

Fury as pregnant bulldog named Florence is found covered in faeces and abandoned in an alley with a dead puppy inside her
Pregnant bulldog is found covered in faeces with a dead puppy inside of her
The dog, named Florence by RSPCA staff, was found in an alleyway in London
She was found in a dirty crate in Finsbury Park with so much faeces on her she looked brown

CIA secretly created 'remote control' DOGS in the 1960s by surgically implanting electrodes in their brains, declassified documents reveal
CIA documents reveal that they tested on dogs in mind control experiments
Officials have been trying to hide top secret documents for decades
Files reveal that the CIA controlled dog's minds using electrodes in their skulls
'Behaviour modification' experiments were an illegal mind control project
Files were released by The Black Vault, a declassified government records site

The CIA created remote control dogs by surgically implanting electrodes in their brains in 1963, newly released documents reveal.

US officials have been trying to hide the top secret 'behaviour modification' files for decades, but they have now been released under the country's Freedom of Information laws.

Experimenters implanted devices inside the skulls of six canines and used electrical stimulation to guide them through an open field, making them run, turn and stop.

The top secret experiments were part of the infamous mind control project MKUltra.

Animal cruelty inspectors probe shocking pictures which show puppies 'being kept in cramped, damp, squalid caravan on farm'
Resident Kerry Mitchell investigated after she saw one of the dogs was run over
The 31-year-old posted pictures of the farm in Galashiels in the Scottish borders
Animal welfare charity the Scottish SPCA confirmed they are investigating

(CNN)A burly kangaroo whose buff physique shot him to internet fame has died at the age of 12.

"We have lost our beautiful boy, Roger," Chris Barnes, owner of the Kangaroo Sanctuary in Australia, announced on Saturday on Facebook.
Roger, who was 6 foot 7 inches and weighed nearly 200 pounds in his prime, was rescued by Barnes as a joey after his mother was killed on a highway.
In a video tribute to the marsupial, Barnes said he was inspired to set up the 188-acre sanctuary in Alice Springs to house the famous kangaroo and his growing harem of wives.
"I built it so they had a place to live," he said. Roger was the sanctuary's alpha male for many years, Barnes added. "He grew up to be a kangaroo that people from all over the world have grown to love as much as we love him too."

Lauren Wills
Freelance Journalist and Environmental Research Intern | Bristol, UK | Contactable via [email protected]
Finnish burger chain Bun2Bun is ditching the animal products and introducing an exclusively vegan menu in a bid to do its part for the environment.

Launching this week in Helsinki with three locations, Bun2Bun is now the nation’s first-ever vegan burger chain. The company has operated since spring, serving meat-based patties; speaking to News Now Finland, Bun2Bun co-owner and chef Pertti Kallioinen explained the change. “Why to change everything? Because I think as an entrepreneur I need to do my part as well for the environment,” he said.

Kallioinen and co-owner Pasi Hassinen already run two vegan-friendly chains, so it seemed logical to them that their next move would transform Bun2Bun with plant-based burgers.

The pair doesn’t think the new menu will deter meat-eating customers, though. “We’re not trying to make [it] a big thing that we’re vegan, we’re a burger chain but everything is vegan,” Kallioinen explained. “Everyone should start to think more about vegan options. Vegan is not bad. It’s very tasty.”

The vegan patties are from Beyond Meat, a California-based food tech company famous for its pea-protein Beyond Burger, which replicates the taste and texture of a beef patty and even “bleeds.” In line with Bun2Bun’s new eco-ethos, Beyond Meat received the United Nations’ “Champion of the Earth” recognition earlier this year for developing this sustainable beef alternative.

It was a big night for California chickens, cows, and pigs as midterms voters overwhelmingly supported an initiative codifying the most progressive animal welfare protections in the world.

California Proposition 12, which passed with more than 61% of the vote, sets specific space requirements for confined animals raised for food.

Building on a popular but flawed 2008 measure, which was supposed to ensure animals had space to turn around, stretch, and lie down, the updated rules specify square footage for each animal.

The proposition also adds an enforcement mechanism, giving the initiative teeth its predecessor lacked. The state’s department of food and agriculture, alongside its department of public health, will now be charged with overseeing the regulations and violators could face misdemeanor charges and fines.

Spanish hunter torments badly injured fox by hurling it through the air before hitting it with his gun and stamping on its head - while smiling for the camera
The hunter chases the injured fox before grabbing and flinging it through the air
He stamps on the animal repeatedly while laughing and grinning at the camera
The video, made in Spain, has angered animal rights activists and hunt groups

U.S. Slaughterhouses Caught Boiling Animals Alive, Freezing Them to Death

By Julie Cappiello - December 19, 2018
An investigation by The Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism into U.S. slaughterhouses found chickens slowly freezing to death, being boiled alive, drowning, and suffocating under piles of other birds.

Hundreds of inspection logs from the United States Department of Agriculture detail numerous incidents of animal cruelty in chicken factory farms and slaughterhouses across the country.

Some logs report thousands of birds dying from heat stress or freezing to death when they were left waiting in transport trucks during heat waves or frigid temperatures. Inspectors noted repeatedly that the facilities had not provided adequate shelter to protect the animals from extreme weather. Other records reveal hundreds of turkeys and chickens bludgeoned, suffocated, or scalded.

(CNN)Driving beyond South Africa's Limpopo province, into the village of Chivadini, people and grassland are scarce. But the oldest living organisms in Africa -- baobab trees -- are abundant.

These spectral behemoths blend into the Saharan countryside and have been an icon of the African savannah since millennia.
As the oldest seed producing trees in the world, their resilience -- some are more than 2,000 years old -- have earned them many names in myths, legends and folklore.
The baobab has been called the tree of life, the monkey bread tree and the upside down tree -- owing to its fat trunk with roots meandering toward the sky.
But these strange looking giants are dying.
Some of the oldest and biggest baobab trees in southern Africa have died recently, and it may be due to climate change, according to a 2018 study published in the journal Nature Plants.

Some of the trees located in Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa, Botswana and Zambia dated back to the times of the ancient Greeks.

Count chemicals not calories and DON'T buy plastic-wrapped food: Restaurateur Camilla Fayed reveals the best way to get results from Veganuary (and actually ENJOY it!)
Camilla Fayed, 33, is the owner of Notting Hill plant-based restaurant Farmacy
The vegan follows a 100% plant-based diet and counts chemicals not calories
Camilla shares her top tips for making it through Veganuary this month

Why CBD is the hottest new wellness trend with cannabis-infused drinks, hair treatments and even croissants now on the market (but it WON'T make you high)
Celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and Alessandra Ambrosio say they take CBD
Range of products infused with ingredient have launched over past few months
CBD, or cannabidiol, is extracted from the cannabis plant and is legal in the UK

Zimbabwe just became the second country in Africa to legalise cannabis cultivation
Phillip de Wet , Business Insider SA

Zimbabwe has created a legal mechanism to grow dagga.
Five-year licences will be available to produce and sell cannabis for medical or research use.
Zimbabwe follows close on the heels of Lesotho, which started issuing similar licences in September.
The Zimbabwean government this week published a licensing regime that will allow the legal cultivation of cannabis, state-owned newspaper The Herald reported on Saturday.

Growing mbanje, as dagga is commonly known in Zim, will be legal for research and medical use under the new regulations, Statutory Instrument 62 of 2018, "Dangerous Drugs – Production of Cannabis for Medicinal and Scientific Use Regulations".

Zimbabwe has been considering such partial legalisation for the last eight months.

Homeward bound: Incredible moment missing Labrador finds his way back to his panicked owners... with two new friends in tow (another dog and a GOAT)
The Krier family's black Labrador Bo went missing earlier this month
The next day his owners were searching for their dog when they saw him running through Kansas cornfields
But when he returned he wasn't alone and had made friends with another dog and a goat
The Kriers later learned the animals both belonged to nearby neighbors

Thank God we live in the 21st century where there are vegan alternatives to old faves that those on a plant-based diet might be missing (even fried eggs). Any vegan who craves a bit of cheesy goodness in the form of a pizza will be delighted to know then Papa John’s is finally offering a non-dairy alternative. The decision from the American pizza giant comes after heavy petitioning from those who want options suitable to their lifestyles. A petition from last year amassed 29,000 signatures plus campaigning from animal rights organisation Animal Aid and vegan news website Vegan Food UK also put the pressure on the franchise to go vegan.

Thank God we live in the 21st century where there are vegan alternatives to old faves that those on a plant-based diet might be missing (even fried eggs). Any vegan who craves a bit of cheesy goodness in the form of a pizza will be delighted to know then Papa John’s is finally offering a non-dairy alternative. The decision from the American pizza giant comes after heavy petitioning from those who want options suitable to their lifestyles. A petition from last year amassed 29,000 signatures plus campaigning from animal rights organisation Animal Aid and vegan news website Vegan Food UK also put the pressure on the franchise to go vegan.

I make pizzas using those big mushrooms as I have a gluten problem. The mushroom gets filled and it becomes the pizza base. They are scrumptious.

__________________Imagination... its limits are only those of the mind itself.

It may be said with a degree of assurance that not everything that meets the eye is as it appears.

Wagamama launches a VEGAN full English breakfast complete with beetroot sausages and 'bacon' made from gluten - but would it replace YOUR fry up?
The new dish will be launched at Gatwick and Heathrow airport on 6 February
It is also comprised of scrambled turmeric tofu and sautéed sweet potato
The move echoes Greggs, who released their meat-free sausage roll in January

Soy, I have a big problem with you. You’re making people sick and old before their time. You may tell everyone you’re a health food, but I think we both know what the real story is, and it’s not pretty. This has got to stop. Right now. That’s why I’m reminding everyone – from those who buy your hype to those who barely know you’re lurking everywhere – that it’s time to show you the door. Just don’t let it hit you on the way out!

With all the loads of scientific data available that soy (even edamame) is not a healthy part of anyone’s diet, it shocks me how many folks are still on the “soy is good for you” bandwagon – even people who should know better like your doctor!
I just got an email from a reader the other day who had been to multiple doctors, both holistic and conventional, and all but one of them were telling her that plenty of soy in her diet would help her menopause symptoms.

I had another shocking conversation recently with a doctor of Internal Medicine who had no idea soy was a potent goitrogenic food and actively suppressed thyroid function.

Many people consider hemp seeds to be a superfood. The seeds have a rich nutritional profile and provide a range of health benefits.
Although hemp seeds come from the Cannabis sativa plant, they do not produce a mind-altering effect.

These small, brown seeds are rich in protein, fiber, and healthful fatty acids, including omega-3s and omega-6s. They have antioxidant effects and may reduce symptoms of numerous ailments, improving the health of the heart, skin, and joints.

In this article, we look at the various benefits of hemp seeds and provide tips for adding them to the diet.

Why you should always let a lady lie-in! Lioness gets very rude wake-up call when lion bites her on the rear (and she is NOT happy about it)
Male crept up behind sleeping lioness in the Maasai Mara in Kenya before chomping down on her bottom
The female sprung up immediately, flipped onto her feet and began attacking male with her sharp claws
Shortly after the scuffle, the two lions went back to the pride and cuddled, as if to make up with each other

This lioness got a rude wake-up call when a conniving male lion crept up on her and bit her on the bottom as she slept.

The female was catching 40 winks in the Maasai Mara in Kenya when one of the males in her pride started stalking her, using all of his focus to stay silent and go unnoticed.

The plotting male got within touching distance of the sleeping lioness before chomping down on her rear and startling her. The fast-thinking female sprung up instantly and started ferociously swiping at him with her razor-sharp claws.

Safari guide Joshua Loonkushu, who captured it on film, revealed in his eight years of guiding he'd never seen anything like it. The 32-year-old said: 'I couldn’t imagine that the male lion was going to behave like this! He got up and kept on creeping towards the lioness, almost stalking.

'He was taking all effort to keep as silent as possible. I told my guests that we are up to something quite interesting here. As he got to the lioness, he bit her! It took the lioness exactly two split seconds to go from fast asleep to be in defense mode and ready to attack.

'In my 8 years of guiding, this was the first sighting of its kind! I’ve never seen something like this. Soon after this scuffle, the rest of the pride joined the two, hugging them as if they were asking what was the matter.'